Fiesta in April is not dead as San Antonians are now Fiesta-ing from home

Fiesta in April is not dead as San Antonians are now...

1of17Karlos Anzoategui has decided to celebrate Fiesta at home in his own ways. "I will not let COVID-19 take the Fiesta out of my life," he says. "Keep going, keep moving, keep doing!"Photo: Josie Norris /Staff Photographer

2of17Karlos Anzoategui puts on a sequined scarf as a mask at his home. He has decided to celebrate Fiesta at home in his own ways. "I will not let COVID-19 take the Fiesta out of my life," he says. "Keep going, keep moving, keep doing!"Photo: Josie Norris /Staff Photographer

3of17Dana Arismendez misses Fiesta so much, she decorated her home in Florida to represent the San Antonio celebration.Photo: Dana Arismendez

4of17A Fiesta wreath on the front door in April never goes out of style.Photo: Screenshot

5of17On Instagram, @ashleynvaldez was just one of many accounts on social media that posted a chicken-on-a-stick pic for celebrating Fiesta at home.Photo: Screenshot

6of17Trust Spurs super fan Spurs Jesus (@spursjesus on Instagram) to share his love of chicken on a stick even when Fiesta is on hiatus.Photo: Screenshot

7of17Melissa Montoya, 27, said she was "bummed" when Fiesta was pushed back, so she recreated the event on her island in the Animal Crossing game and invited all her friends to the virtual party on Saturday.Photo: Animal Crossing, Melissa Montoya

8of17Melissa Montoya, 27, said she was "bummed" when Fiesta was pushed back, so she recreated the event on her island in the Animal Crossing game and invited all her friends to the virtual party on Saturday.Photo: Animal Crossing, Melissa Montoya

9of17Liz and Justin Sanderson celebrated Fiesta in April with the announcement that their newborn would arrive in November, right in the middle of Fiesta's rescheduled run in the fall.Photo: Justin Sanderson

10of17Karlos Anzoategui has decided to celebrate Fiesta at home in his own ways. "I will not let COVID-19 take the Fiesta out of my life," he says. "Keep going, keep moving, keep doing!"Photo: Josie Norris /Staff Photographer

11of17Karlos Anzoategui poses in his decorated atrium at home. He has decided to celebrate Fiesta at home in his own ways. "I will not let COVID-19 take the Fiesta out of my life," he says. "Keep going, keep moving, keep doing!"Photo: Josie Norris /Staff Photographer

13of17Karlos Anzoategui poses in his decorated atrium at home. He has decided to celebrate Fiesta at home in his own ways. "I will not let COVID-19 take the Fiesta out of my life," he says. "Keep going, keep moving, keep doing!"Photo: Josie Norris /Staff Photographer

14of17Karlos Anzoategui poses in his decorated atrium at home. He has decided to celebrate Fiesta at home in his own ways. "I will not let COVID-19 take the Fiesta out of my life," he says. "Keep going, keep moving, keep doing!"Photo: Josie Norris /Staff Photographer

15of17Kandice Turner (@kandyandicecream on Instagram) had some Fiesta fun with friends on her iPad.Photo: Screenshot

16of17A member of the royal court participates during the 2019 Battle of Flowers Parade. KSAT will rebroadcast the parade Friday at 2 p.m.Photo: Contributor file photo

17of17Melissa Montoya, 27, said she was "bummed" when Fiesta was pushed back, so she recreated the event on her island in the Animal Crossing game and invited all her friends to the virtual party on Saturday.Photo: Animal Crossing, Melissa Montoya

The coronavirus may have pushed Fiesta 2020 to November, but that hasn’t stopped some San Antonians from partying on, at least virtually, like it’s another late April in the Alamo City. Because this is the time of year when it just feels like Fiesta, and the withdrawal is real.

“I will not let COVID take the Fiesta out of my life,” said Karlos Anzoategui, the San Antonio hairdresser and entertainer better known as “Karlos with a K.” “If we don’t do it to a certain degree, we’re dealing with psychological issues.”

Anzoategui knows social distancing mandates make his usual over-the-top Fiesta parties impossible. So to keep himself sane, he’s festooned the atrium of his Mahncke Park home and home-based Le Mirage hair salon with a colorful mix of what he calls Fiesta glitz and Mardi Gras madness, and he’s hung up his handmade Fiesta wreath on the front door.

All it takes is a quick glance on social media to know that Anzoategui is not alone in Fiesta-ing from home.

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Fiesta parades

Yes, Fiesta parades remain a reality even this time of year, albeit of the on-screen and online variety.

2019 parades on TV: Later this week, KSAT will rebroadcast last year’s Battle of Flowers and Fiesta Flambeau Parades. The 2019 Battle of Flowers Parade airs at 2 p.m. Friday and the 2019 Flambeau airs at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Virtual River Parade: And for those who miss the Texas Cavaliers River Parade, here’s a DIY alternative. The San Antonio River Walk will host a special Virtual River Walk Parade on Facebook at 7 p.m. April 30 on its Facebook page, @TheSanAntonioRiverWalkOfficial.

The online parade will feature colorful faux parade barges submitted by individuals, businesses, nonprofits, etc. who filmed their creations floating in a bathtub, pool or other body of water.

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Fiesta San Antonio is encouraging folks to maintain the springtime tradition, only from the safety of their own homes with the social media hashtag, #athomefiesta. And after more than 700 such posts on Instagram alone, it’s safe to say San Antonio is having all sorts of stay-at-home Fiesta fun.

We’re talking more chicken-on-a-stick pics than you can shake a you-know-what at, plus plenty of Fiesta home decor. Meanwhile, other Fiesta fans are getting together while still staying apart, thanks to video chat apps such as Zoom. One couple even posted a Fiesta-themed birth announcement to herald the arrival of their baby, who’s due when Fiesta kicks off this fall.

“I call it the reconstruction of what once was a (San Antonio) lifestyle,” Anzoategui said.

Here’s how Anzoategui and other San Antonians are keeping Fiesta alive in April, in their homes and especially in their hearts.

Chickens-on-a-stick galore

Of course, when you’re talking Fiesta, you’re also talking food. And if you thought you saw a lot of chicken on a stick while out in the wilds of Fiesta, there’s plenty of that pierced poultry online, too.

“When you can’t go to the chicken on a stick, you bring the chicken on a stick to you!” posted @ashleynvaldez21 on Instagram, along with a mouth-watering pic of said Fiesta must-have.

Fiesta home decorations

Like Anzoategui, plenty of other San Antonians have decked their halls with Fiesta spirit. Even Miss Fiesta San Antonio Calista Burns has gotten in on the at-home action, with home decor posts on her Instagram account, @missfiestasa.

Trust San Antonio to channel its Fiesta fervor while working from home, too. For instance, Northside Independent School District’s Even Start Family Literacy Program (@NISDEvenStart on Twitter) has members rocking their finest Fiesta flower crowns and medals for video meetings.

Viva Fiesta, via video game!

Melissa Montoya, 27, said she was “bummed” when Fiesta was pushed back, so she recreated the event on her island in the Animal Crossing game and invited all of her friends to the virtual party on Saturday. Animal Crossing is a social simulation video game series that has grown to be very popular during the shelter-in-place orders.

Montoya designed flower crowns, gordita and taco stands, Bud Light booths and more Fiesta-related items through the game’s latest release (Animal Crossing: New Horizons). Portable potties were also featured in the event as well as a stage that represented the music that typically occurs at Fiesta.

AFter everything was in place, Montoya used a code to give her friends access to join her event. In the game, Montoya and her friends were able to chat with each other while enjoying all the activities and booths Montoya created.

“My friends loved it,” she said. “It was a great way to have fun while being safe. We made our own outfits and really went with it. It was a good time.”

Oh, Fiesta baby!

Baby’s first Fiesta in 2020 may not be like those of previous years’ celebrations, but it should be twice as memorable for San Antonio couple, Justin and Liz Sanderson.

“We wanted to do it San Antonio style,” said Justin Sanderson, an Alamo City native. “And that means Fiesta is involved.”

Sanderson said he and his wife cracked out the Fiesta medals sash, the flower crown and other regalia just special for the announcement, and plan to get a gender-reveal cake that’s Fiesta-themed as well.

Like the Sandersons, Anzoategui also looks forward to new life with Fiesta in the fall. In the meantime, he has a message for all Fiesta fans: “Keep going, keep moving, keep doing.”

Staff writer Priscilla Aguirre contributed to this report. René Guzman is a features reporter in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. He writes about pop culture and what makes San Antonio so uniquely puro San Antonio. To read more from René, become a subscriber. rguzman@express-news.net | Twitter: @reneguz

René A. Guzman is a features writer for the San Antonio Express-News. He writes about geek and pop culture as well as consumer gadgets and technology, and writes a blog called Geek Speak that covers comic books, tabletop gaming and other geek culture in San Antonio and beyond. He has also written about health and fitness and other consumer topics. In addition to the Express-News, Guzman's work has appeared in the Baltimore Sun, Beaumont Enterprise, Chicago Tribune, Houston Chronicle and San Francisco Chronicle. Before joining the Express-News in December 1998, the San Antonio native co-owned a college humor magazine named Bitter, for which he wrote, designed and edited, as well as distributed at various campuses and businesses citywide.